The Qalupalik Under the Ice
Inuit children are warned not to play at the edge of the sea ice. Beneath it, a creature with long hair and long nails hums, waiting to carry them away.
What was reported
The qalupalik is a sea creature of Inuit tradition, human-like but with green skin, long hair and long fingernails. It lives in the sea under the ice, and you can hear it humming before it appears.
It wears an amauti, a parka with a large hood for carrying babies, and if children wander too close to the edge of the ice alone, it puts them in its hood and takes them down under the water.
Explanations offered
The qalupalik is a warning tale, to keep children away from thin ice and open water, which are deadly in the Arctic. It's part of Inuit oral tradition and is still told, including in children's books.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
- Witnesses
- Inuit tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from Nunavut